Is the United States a war-happy nation? With the situation surrounding the Strait of Hormuz escalating, columnist Abd Al Bari Atwan of Samidoon in the Palestinian Territories writes that American embargoes invariably lead to war, and with the U.S. economy in crisis, a war with Iran that would boost weapons sales may be precisely what Washington wants.
For Samidoon, Abd Al Bari Atwan writes in part:
There is an Arabic proverb: “A criminal always hovers near the scene of the crime.” It is a saying that applies, in one way or another, to America’s current moves – both political and military – in the Arab Gulf region.
There are those who argue that the Obama Administration, at the door of a ferocious electoral battle with rival Republicans and facing a debilitating economic crisis, cannot risk a new conflagration after burning its fingers and pockets losing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. But wouldn’t it also be rational to conclude that because of these – the economic crisis and the presidential election – the administration might want a war?
To further explain, backing Israel and meeting its demands to destroy Iran’s nuclear ambitions are a common denominator in every electoral campaign of both major U.S. political parties. To gain the goodwill of Israel and the powerful Jewish lobby, one Republican candidate has even threatened to send aircraft and missiles against Iran to protect Israel.
Mrs. Hillary Clinton, engineer of U.S. foreign policy and its latest wars in the region, says she won’t allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons so as to prevent a nuclear weapons race in the region among countries like Egypt, Turkey and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. But one can reply to this justification by asking why a nuclear arms race didn’t occur when Israel, which is more dangerous to the Arab nation than Iran and continues to occupy Arab lands and holy sites, acquired such weapons?
We actually want to see a nuclear arms race in the region, since that would cost a tenth of the amount needed to buy American weapons. In addition, it would constitute a shield and deterrent for the Arab people in the face of both Iranian and Israeli threats.
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